Bioline Launches the Full Range of EPIK™ miRNA A

CINCINNATI, Jan. 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bioline, The PCR Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Meridian Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIVO ) today announced the expansion of the EPIK™ miRNA Select Assays, originally developed for the study of individual microRNA (miRNA) molecules. In collaboration with MiRXES, Bioline released 800 EPIK™ miRNA Select Assays in March 2016 and this has now been increased to include all of the organisms listed on the miRBase release 21, which represents over 27,000 miRNA assays. Recent studies continue to show the clinical value of individual miRNA molecules which are released from tissues and cells. The expression of certain individual miRNA molecules correlates with specific disease conditions making them promising biomarker candidates for the early detection of disease, prognosis and monitoring of treatment in both humans and other organisms.

Each assay is designed by MiRXES in silico using proprietary thermodynamics-based algorithms and include miRNA specific reverse transcriptase primers and hemi-nested real-time PCR primers along with Bioline reverse transcriptase, SensiSMART™ with SYBR ^®1  Green and highly optimized buffers. The resulting assays enable detection of extremely low levels of miRNA with very high specificity and allow the discrimination between closely related miRNA sequences.

Marco Calzavara, President of Bioline commented, “I am very pleased to announce the expansion of the EPIK miRNA Select Assays. The increased portfolio of high quality miRNA assays will help even more researchers with miRNA expression profiling, quantification and in biomarker discovery.”

Richard L. Eberly, President, Chief Commercial Officer, stated, “The release of the full range of EPIK miRNA Select Assays and their enhanced performance are an important addition to our portfolio. They increase the flexibility of this highly useful research tool by allowing more of our life science customers to create accurate and non-invasive molecular diagnostic assays in humans and in other organisms.”

About Meridian Bioscience, Inc.  Meridian is a fully integrated life science company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad range of innovative diagnostic test kits, rare reagents, specialty biologicals and components. Utilizing a variety of methods, our diagnostic tests provide accuracy, simplicity and speed in the early diagnosis and treatment of common medical conditions, such as infections and lead poisoning. Meridian’s diagnostic products are used outside of the human body and require little or no special equipment. The Company's diagnostic products are designed to enhance patient well-being while reducing the total outcome costs of health care. Meridian has strong market positions in the areas of gastrointestinal and upper respiratory infections and blood lead level testing. In addition, Meridian is a supplier of rare reagents, specialty biologicals and components used by organizations in the life science and agribio industries engaged in research and by companies as components in the manufacture of diagnostics. The Company markets its products and technologies to hospitals, reference laboratories, research centers, diagnostics manufacturers and agribio companies in more than 70 countries around the world. The Company’s shares are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, symbol VIVO. Meridian's website address is www.meridianbioscience.com .

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: For more information about Bioline, please visit http://www.bioline.com .

^{__________________________________________ 1}  SYBR is a registered trademark of Thermo Fisher Scientific.

CONTACT: Richard L. Eberly President, Chief Commercial Officer Meridian Bioscience, Inc. Phone: 513.271.3700 rick.eberly@meridianbioscience.com